The workshops served to define the values, governance, and next steps for a European platform that seeks to strengthen the representation and advocacy of LGBTIQ+ Rromani people.
La Fragua Projects recently participated in a series of workshops to advance the relaunch of the Roma LGBTQ+ Platform, an initiative launched several years ago by ARA ART with the goal of creating a space for collaboration, representation, and advocacy for LGBTIQ+ Rromani people in Europe. The meeting brought together organizations and activists from different countries to lay the groundwork for a new phase of the platform and define how it will continue to develop in the coming years.
During the workshop, participants worked to identify the values and mission that will guide the Roma LGBTQ+ Platform, as well as the main issues it will address in the future. In addition, the participating organizations discussed its internal operations, including which organizations will be eligible to join the platform, how the process for admitting new members will work, and what governance and decision-making mechanisms will ensure democratic and representative participation.
This collaborative effort also made it possible to agree on the next steps to consolidate the platform and strengthen its capacity to build alliances, share experiences, and promote advocacy efforts in defense of the rights of LGBTIQ+ Rromani people.
The relaunch of the Roma LGBTQ+ Platform presents an opportunity to strengthen a European network that helps raise awareness of the realities faced by LGBTIQ+ Roma and to foster collective responses to the discrimination and exclusion they continue to face in various areas of society.
The opening of the “Directora Olga Carrión” Women’s Centre in Seville underlines the importance of having inclusive spaces for Rromani women
The creation of new resources for women is always welcome news. However, beyond the opening of a facility or the launch of a service, it is worth asking who uses these spaces, who feels represented, and what barriers women who have historically faced greater difficulties in accessing them continue to encounter.
In the case of Rromani women, these questions remain relevant.
Despite the social progress made in recent decades, many Rromani women continue to face inequality stemming from antigypsyism prejudice, a specific form of racism that continues to limit opportunities in key areas such as employment, education, housing, health and social participation.
These barriers are not specific to individual circumstances. They are the result of structural inequalities that continue to restrict the full exercise of rights and which, in many cases, remain invisible in forums for participation and in public policy.
Spaces that recognise the reality of Romani women
Equality cannot be built on the basis of a single reality. Women have different experiences, life paths and needs, and the resources allocated to promoting their rights must be capable of recognising that diversity.
For this reason, spaces such as the Casa de la Mujer take on particular significance when they are able to foster genuine participation, listen to the voices of Romani women and become places where all women can feel represented and welcomed.
It is not just about opening doors. It is about ensuring that all women can walk through them on an equal footing.
ADEME: supporting, mediating and defending rights
Through ADEME, the Support, Detection and Mediation service we run at La Fragua Projects, we work every day alongside Romani women to facilitate access to their rights, support their participation in decision-making processes and offer assistance in situations of discrimination or exclusion.
Our experience shows that empowerment does not stem solely from the availability of resources. It also requires safe spaces where women can share experiences, strengthen their autonomy, build support networks and play an active part in decisions that affect their lives.
Séfora Vargas Martín, a legal adviser at ADEME, plays a key role in this work, supporting Romani women in defending their rights, providing legal guidance and facilitating access to resources and opportunities. Her day-to-day work helps to identify instances of discrimination, offer specialised support and strengthen processes aimed at fostering autonomy and participation.
The event took place at the Casa de la Mujer in Seville, a venue for dialogue, participation and the strengthening of networks amongst women, equality officers and professionals working in the field of women’s issues.
An opportunity to keep moving forward
The creation of new spaces dedicated to women should also serve to reinforce our commitment to those who continue to face greater obstacles in exercising their rights.
Roma women are part of the diversity of our society and play a vital role within their families, communities and the wider society. However, they continue to face barriers that limit their presence in many public and decision-making spheres.
For this reason, at La Fragua Projects we believe it is essential that any initiative aimed at promoting equality incorporates an anti-racist perspective and takes into account the specific circumstances of Romani women.
Because equality will only be a reality when all women have access to the same rights, opportunities and spaces for participation. And because Romani women must not only be present in these spaces: they must be heard, recognised and play a leading role in the changes that affect their lives and their communities.
Source: La Fragua Projects. Images: La Fragua Projects
Technology has transformed the way people communicate and relate to each other, but it has also opened new avenues for sexual exploitation and trafficking. With the aim of making this reality visible and promoting a critical perspective on how these forms of violence operate in digital environments, the Seville City Council has launched the campaign “Misma violencia, distinta interfaz”.
The initiative is part of the program organized for the International Day against Sexual Exploitation and Trafficking in Persons and focuses on a reality that, although it adopts new tools and scenarios, continues to be based on the same inequalities, discrimination and violations of rights.
Representing La Fragua Projects was Séfora Vargas Martín, legal technician of the Attention, Detection and Mediation (ADEME) project, sharing this meeting space with social entities, institutions and professionals committed to the prevention of sexual exploitation and the defense of human rights.
Looking beyond the screens
Mobile apps, social media, and digital platforms are part of the daily lives of millions of people. However, they have also become tools used to recruit, control, and exploit vulnerable individuals.
With the slogan "Misma violencia, distinta interfaz," the campaign invites reflection on how trafficking and sexual exploitation have found new ways to operate in the digital sphere, without diminishing the impact of the violence they generate or the human rights violations that sustain them. The initiative seeks to raise public awareness and reinforce the need for coordinated responses focused on prevention, protection, and the guarantee of rights.
Activities to raise awareness and generate consciousness
Among the planned actions, “Neones Sinceros” stands out, an intervention developed together with Médicos del Mundo that will travel through different spaces in Seville to make visible situations of sexual exploitation and violation of rights that continue to affect numerous women.
The program also includes the day “Beyond the screen: preventive keys against pornography and sexual exploitation”, aimed at professionals in the educational, social and health fields, as well as anyone interested in delving deeper into the prevention of these forms of violence from a rights perspective.
The AMIGA Association is also organizing a photographic exhibition at the Women's Center in Seville, featuring stories of survivors of prostitution and trafficking. The exhibition focuses on their processes of resistance and recovery, while also highlighting the importance of strengthening resources for protection, support, and reparation.
Strengthening networking to defend human rights
Participation in this meeting allowed La Fragua Projects to create new collaborative spaces with organizations working to defend women's rights and support survivors of trafficking and sexual exploitation. These spaces for exchange and coordination help strengthen networking, a key tool for building collective responses to the multiple forms of violence and exclusion that continue to affect women and girls.
Representatives of social entities, institutions and professionals during the presentation of the campaign "Misma violencia, distinta interfaz".
This participation is directly connected to the work carried out by ADEME, a project that supports vulnerable Roma people through direct care, needs assessment and mediation, facilitating their access to rights, resources and public services.
The campaign “Misma violencia, distinta interfaz” reminds us that sexual exploitation and trafficking persist, even as the channels and spaces where they occur change. Therefore, social awareness, prevention, and collaboration between government agencies, social organizations, and professionals remain fundamental tools for moving towards a more just society, free from violence and committed to human rights.
The workshop organised by the Inter-Autonomous Strategic Rroma Forum (FEIG) highlighted the need to strengthen institutional commitments to the Rroma People, warning of the risks of abandoning specific strategies and calling for progress in the monitoring of public policies at both national and regional levels
On 28 July, Jerez de la Frontera Town Council hosted the conference ‘The Impact of Rroma Strategies and Policies at Local and Regional Level’, organised as part of the 2026 Inter-Regional Rroma Strategic Forum (FEIG 2026), an initiative jointly promoted by the National Association for Rroma Presence (ANPG), the Federation of Rroma Associations of Catalonia (FAGIC) and La Fragua Projects (LFP).
The opening of the event was attended by the Mayor of Jerez de la Frontera, María José García-Pelayo, who welcomed the organisations and individuals present and expressed her support for the objectives of the event and for the work carried out by Rromani organisations to promote equality, participation and inclusion. In her speech, she highlighted the importance of strengthening collaboration between public authorities and civil society in order to continue making progress on rights and full citizenship.
The event brought together institutional representatives, representatives of the National Council of the Rroma People and the Andalusian Council of the Rroma People, Rromani organisations, social organisations and experts to analyse the state of public policies aimed at the Rroma People and to discuss the challenges currently faced by the various administrations in fulfilling their commitments regarding equality, inclusion and participation.
The choice of Jerez de la Frontera as the venue for the meeting held special significance for the participating organisations. The city occupies a prominent place in the history and contemporary reality of the Rroma People. As a cultural, social and artistic hub, Jerez represents one of the places where the Rromani contribution has been recognised and valued as a fundamental element of collective identity. The historical presence of Rromani families, artists and leading figures has contributed decisively to the city’s cultural prestige, making it a particularly symbolic place for Rromani civil society. Holding a conference there dedicated to public policy and participation provided an opportunity to link the institutional debate with a region deeply connected to the history, culture and contributions of the Rromani people.
During the session, the FEIG 2025 report – drawn up by the project’s partner organisations – was presented; it analyses the development of strategies and policies aimed at the Rroma People in Andalusia, Catalonia, Madrid and Navarre. The report notes that the National Strategy for Equality, Inclusion and Participation of the Rroma People 2021–2030 remains the main framework of reference, but also highlights the difficulties involved in translating its objectives into fully operational and assessable policies across the various regions.
One of the main issues addressed during the debate was concern over certain regressive trends that call into question the need to maintain specific strategies for the Rromani community at regional level. Participants warned that replacing these tools with generalist inclusion plans could dilute the focus on the specific inequalities still faced by the Rroma People and undermine the commitments made at both national and European level.
In this regard, the situation in Madrid and Navarre was analysed with particular concern. In both regions, approaches have been proposed that aim to dispense with specific strategies for the Rroma community and to integrate measures targeting the Rroma People into general frameworks for social inclusion. The participating organisations agreed that this approach carries the risk of a loss of visibility, political priority and the ability to monitor measures designed to combat the inequalities affecting the Rroma population.
Alongside these trends, the conference also highlighted the accumulated delays in the approval or updating of regional strategies in other territories. Although Andalusia and Catalonia are continuing with processes aimed at developing new strategic frameworks, delays in their final approval are hindering the implementation of fully operational policies and limiting the ability to properly assess the commitments made. The participating organisations emphasised that allowing strategies to remain pending renewal for years conveys a worrying lack of political priority regarding the rights and inclusion of the Rromani people.
Another cause for concern was the absence of the 2025 national progress report, a document considered essential for assessing the extent to which the National Strategy is being implemented. The participating organisations pointed out that accountability, transparency and the regular publication of up-to-date information are essential for assessing the real impact of public policies and guiding future courses of action.
Within this framework, La Fragua Projects has been playing a significant role in the development of the FEIG by conducting analyses, producing strategic content and generating knowledge on public policies aimed at the Rromani community. The organisation is actively involved in preparing monitoring reports, conducting comparative analyses of regional strategies and coordinating a broad network of partner organisations that help to enrich the debate and strengthen the advocacy capacity of Romani civil society.
The event also featured the participation of guest organisations such as the YILÓ Association, the Association of Teachers Working with Rroma (AEGIT), the KAMIRA Federation of Rroma Women’s Associations, the FAKALI Federation of Rroma Women, the Secretariado Gitano Foundation (FSG) and Unión Romaní Madrid (URM), alongside local organisations from Jerez de la Frontera, such as the Calle Nueva and Cantarería Cultural Association, as well as other social and institutional stakeholders, creating a diverse space for the exchange of experiences and the development of joint proposals.
The meeting once again highlighted the importance of maintaining forums for dialogue, coordination and monitoring to ensure that the commitments made by the various public authorities are translated into real, measurable public policies that are sustainable over time. Against a backdrop where some strategies are at risk of being abandoned and others are years behind schedule, the participating organisations emphasised the need to strengthen participatory mechanisms and to maintain specific policies that enable progress towards effective equality for the Rroma People.
Source: La Fragua Projects Photos: La Fragua Projects
On 22 July 2026, the inaugural meeting of the Racial Justice and Empowerment Network was held; this network comprises organisations operating at national level that are committed to defending the rights of refugees, migrants, Rroma and racialised people.
The Racial Justice & Empowerment Network was established with the aim of strengthening access to rights and justice for refugees, migrants, Rroma and racialised people by creating a space for collaboration, the sharing of resources, training and mutual support. The network aims to develop coordinated responses to racial discrimination and to promote equal rights through collaboration and mutual support.
Laying the foundations for a national network
The aim of the session was to lay the foundations for the Network’s operation, defining its purpose, vision and initial coordination mechanisms. An initial assessment was also carried out of the participating organisations’ capabilities, expertise, resources and needs, with the aim of identifying synergies and establishing a shared roadmap for the network’s development.
Key objectives that will guide the Network’s work include sharing resources and knowledge amongst participating organisations, facilitating referrals and mutual support mechanisms, expanding opportunities for specialised training, developing joint advocacy initiatives, and strengthening organisations’ capacity to defend rights. Furthermore, the Network will work to improve the identification of and response to situations of discrimination, helping to combat phenomena such as under-reporting, which, in many cases, hinders effective access to justice for those affected.
During the meeting, it was also agreed to promote tools that would facilitate smooth communication between organisations and encourage the coordination of actions, thereby consolidating a stable collaborative network capable of responding to shared challenges from a national perspective.
This meeting marks the first step in a process of collective development that will help to establish a collaborative framework between organisations operating in different regions and fields of work, but which share a commitment to working towards a fairer, more inclusive and more equal society.
From September 2026, the Racial Justice & Empowerment Network will enter a more operational phase, focusing on the development of specific actions, strengthening cooperation between organisations, and implementing the priorities identified at this founding meeting to improve the defence of rights and access to justice for refugees, migrants, Rroma and racialised people.
Source: La Fragua Projects Photos: La Fragua Projects
As part of the ‘Orgullo Gitano. Sevilla 2026’ event, three declarations have been presented which set out a collective stance and launch a nationwide process aimed at strengthening the rights of LGBTIQ+ Rromani people.
These documents stem from the opportunities for participation created during the meeting and reflect a clear commitment to recognising sex and gender diversity within the Rromani community as a historical, political and social reality that requires recognition, resources and specific responses.
Three complementary perspectives for a shared agenda
The statements relate to three distinct areas, which have made it possible to explore specific experiences and needs in greater depth from a context-specific perspective.
On the one hand, the Aliades Space Declaration highlights the role of the alliance as a tool for transformation. The document argues that change cannot rest solely with those who suffer discrimination, but requires the active involvement of other social actors, based on shared responsibility and sustained commitment.
The text emphasises that being an ally is not merely a symbolic stance, but a practical commitment that involves examining one’s own privileges, taking action against inequalities and helping to create safer and more inclusive environments.
Furthermore, the GTBIQ Space Declaration, which focuses on Rromani men and non-binary people, directly addresses the intersection between anti-Romani sentiment and LGTBIQphobia. The document highlights how these forms of discrimination reinforce one another and give rise to specific situations of exclusion.
It also emphasises the need to establish role models, strengthen networks and move towards a political agenda of its own that will enable these issues to be placed at the centre of public debate and public policy.
The LBTIQ Space Declaration, which focuses on Rromani women and non-binary people, highlights their historical invisibility, the silence surrounding their experiences, and the material and emotional impacts of discrimination.
The document highlights the importance of reclaiming collective memory, creating spaces of their own and strengthening leadership that enables Romani women and people of diverse gender identities to participate fully in social, community and institutional life.
From reflection to the establishment of a national network
Beyond the analysis, the three documents share a common goal: the establishment of a national network of LGBTIQ+ Rroma people.
This proposal is not merely intended as an organisational structure, but as a space for mutual support, the generation of our own knowledge and political advocacy. It is a necessary step towards overcoming the current fragmentation and moving towards collective responses to inequalities.
The statements also highlight the limitations of current public policies, which in many cases fail to incorporate an intersectional perspective capable of simultaneously addressing anti-Rroma bias and sex and gender diversity.
A starting point for a sustained process
The Seville Statements 2026 is not intended to provide a definitive assessment, but rather to mark the start of a new phase.
A process that places dignity, equality and human rights at its heart, and which positions LGBTIQ+ Rroma people as key players in developing responses to discrimination.
From this starting point, the challenge is no longer simply to share a common framework, but to translate it into concrete actions, genuine partnerships and sustainable change over time.
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